Where's that Valley?
So on Day 5 we decided to take the long route to the Valley, we were going to go north to the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp and then loop down towards Tenaya Lake, making camp somewhere along the way. Little did I know when I set out that this was going to be a long day Shawn had my number by now and knew that I would keep going if he pushed. So we hiked to Glen Aulin it was a really pretty hike, with a fair amount of descent and we were pretty tired by the time we go to the camp and we immediately set to the task of addressing blisters and bug bites. I'd like to take a moment and thank the person/people who invented DEET...trust me this is the only thing that works against these pests. We were pretty lucky though there weren't many mosquitos, nothing like what I had seen in June. Anyways we were soon on the trail and doing pretty good and we decided to make the push to Tenaya Lake...of course getting to the lake and getting to a campsite are two totally seperate things. I was pretty much through by the time we got to the lake and was ready to pay someone anyone to carry me to a campsite. Well we fumbled around for awhile and Shawn finally found a campsite...it was in a gorgeous setting...later we realized it was illegal since it wasn't a mile and a half from the road...trust me I was not about to walk any further. In any case we were right on the lake and Shawn took a dip, I wasn't courageous enough to dip into the icy waters. At night Shawn built a big campfire and we enjoyed a nice gourmet pot of mac and cheese. Night.
Day 6 started out with singing....I haven't mentioned it yet but Shawn likes to sing and he was entertaining, well....Ok this morning's song was entitled "Camp Food Slob". In order to really appreciate this song you would have to had watched the Southpark movie, just set the camp food slob lyrics to the tune of Kyle's Mom's a _____...yes quite funny. Let's see what other favorites did he have "It's beginning to feel a lot like vacation" this started when we finally reached Yosemite Valley and the all time favorite "Renee the red-nosed backpacker". There were plenty of non-alternated songs that were sung. Gosh when are we going to get to the valley?....hee hee I have to get a few digs in. Well the end was definitely in site and our goal for the day was to get to Little Yosemite Valley a popular Yosemite campground. We decided to take the "easy" trail to the campground...originally we were thinking of getting to our destination via Clouds Rest but seeing how we had a killer hike the day before...we opted for a trail that went around the backside of Clouds Rest. We did however get the opportunity to get a great view of Clouds Rest and Half Dome. I by this point had decided to try something new and I took off my hiking boots and started to walk in my Tevas....my feet were killing me (I later found out as a result of running for several years)...the Tevas were awesome and I was feeling great. Well we finally made it to Little Yosemite and there were people all over, we were pretty excited to be in a campground and around people...we were getting close to that thing called civilization. Little Yosemite is also known for a number of black bear encounters and I was pretty sure that we would see some....I of course slept like a log and evidently missed mama bear and her cub that visted the campsite next to us in the night.
Day 7, the final hiking day...the day we would reach the Valley, pizza and showers...oh yeah. In order to get the valley we decided to continue to go down on the John Muir Trail...we could have gone onto the Mist Trail but it's really steep and wet...I was thinking that I preffered not to add extra challenges on the last day. The JMT into the Valley is really nice, I had hiked it the year before....it's pretty steep and you don't encounter as many people as you do on the Mist Trail. Finally after some vigourous hiking we reached Vernal Falls and the masses of Yosemite visitors...boy did we get some startled looks. I am sure we were quite a site with our big packs...and hiking poles (a concept not well understood by the non-hiker). We didn't care however we had goals and finally we were in the Valley and getting one of those luxurious cabins at Curry Village. Since the cabin wasn't ready there was really only one thing to do...drink beer and eat pizza. Our journey had ended and as usual I had mixed feelings I was sad because I love to be in the backcountry and I knew it would be a long time before I could be there again but I was happy to have the luxuries that accompany civilization like fresh food, showers, beds, etc.
Our trip wasn't quite over we had to wait another full day since we had to catch a shuttle back to the car we had left at Agnews Meadow and that shuttle only ran once a day in the evening. So the next day we just sort of hung out and walked around the Valley, originally we were going to do the hike up to Half Dome...but Shawn's blisters and knee ensured that we would remain in the Valley. After our days of eating dried food and tons of water...we found our way to the four star Awhanee Hotel and promptly made our way to the restaurant....where we had a really good lunch and of course accompanied by some great wine. Finally it was time to get the shuttle, oh the joys of being in a jam packed van with smelly backpackers and windows that don't open...thank goodness they all got out at Tuolumne. It was late by the time we got to Mammoth Lakes and we crashed overnight there. First thing the next morning we packed everything into the car and headed back HOME!!!! Shawn and I said a very quick goodbye...as most people know who have been backpacking you are fairly anxious for a backpacker partner reprieve after a long trip...and boy were we ready. Shawn was a good sport...it's challenging to go out for more than 3 days on your first time out. Well that's all folks I have some more facts and pictures on the proceeding page. I am sure next year will bring another long backpack trip...I'm hooked. Bye!
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Setting Out
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Will they make it?